About the film

In 1971 director and Formula One fan Roman Polanski took his film crew to spend the weekend of the Monaco Grand Prix with the then world champion, Jackie Stewart, as the star driver practiced and then competed in that most glamorous of races. The result is one of filmmaking’s most candid and illuminating all-round portraits of a sportsman, here at the absolute peak of his career at a time in motor racing when drivers literally took their lives in their hands every time they were strapped into their cars. Polanski is brilliant at drawing out Stewart, a man whom he admired and became friends with (they still are great friends, 40 years on). Forgotten and largely unseen for many decades, the film was restored by Polanski, working with Stewart and his family and adding new footage, to give a new generation an opportunity experience the illuminating, entertaining and visceral film he made with director Frank Simon.